Sleep training 18 month old

[Becky6X]

Hi everyone, looking for some advice on where to start in getting my 18 month old to self soothe so he can go to bed of a night time on his own.

We’ve always given him his night time bottle in our arms then cuddled him until he’s asleep, then put him in his cot. Awful I know. He’s way too big and heavy now to still be doing this and is fighting his sleep so much now. Any advice on how to get out of this? Thanks x

Does he have a comforter? Or a white noise toy like Ewan the Sheep?
You want to transition him slowly rather than making him go cold turkey. Start giving him his bottle in your arms but maybe with the comforter on his face, or the white noise on. Get him used to feeling/hearing those things as well as your arms. Then gradually phase the arms/cuddles out - maybe rest one arm on him in his cot etc etc. Take it as slowly as he needs. Then eventually he will just associate his bottle/comforter/noise with sleep and will want them instead of you.
My DC falls asleep with a Muslin touching his face and Ollie the Owl blasting in his ear!! 😄

If you've got to 18 months without crying it out, I presume you're looking for gentler methods? Swapping to a low bed from a cot was a game changer for us. This is also worth a read:

www.google.com/amp/s/sarahockwell-smith.com/2016/06/16/getting-to-goodnight-and-go/amp/